Sammy’s also excited but shows it very differently

Let’s relax and eat some donuts in honor of Poppy!

Leaving rainy Boston!

Got delayed because of the storm - will be leaving shortly!

Excited to take off!

Started our descent into Paris! Bonus points if you can spot the Eiffel Tower!

There was a loooooooong line at Customs

Finally made it out!

The airport was pretty tricky to navigate but we figured it out

In the Uber and we were very tired but excited!

Quick nap time!

Found a place to eat

Great food!

University in Paris - Sorbonne

Walking in the streets of Paris

Hung out on the lawn

Spot the Eiffel Tower!

Walked by Sainte-Chapelle on the way home!

Looks like someone in Paris is a UMD fan…

“i don’t think a statue can capture all of my features” -sammy

The palace is beautiful

“we should have a room like this in our house” -sammy

“how do you know she played the cello? she could be lying” -sammy

Sammy would love to know how you would want to pose if you were getting a portrait done. He says he would want to be playing piano so people would think he was a prodigy.

“if they were so short how do they get up on the bed?” -hannah

Beautiful gardens!

“what do you think the black part in the back is? It looks like a giant cat” -hannah

The ceilings are so beautiful!

Hall of Mirrors!

Got our first macarons! Our favorite was the vanilla flavor

Sammy needed a quick nap on our way back into the city!

Even saw a mini version of the Statue of Liberty!

Great view of the city!

Great lunch at Galeries Lafayette

Raspberry cookie for dessert 🤤

Walked by the Louvre on our way back

Went to the lawn to see the Eiffel Tower! Sadly they were getting ready for the Global Citizen Concert but the view was still BEAUTIFUL

For dinner we walked about an hour, met up with some of Livia’s friends, and got falafel. Afterwards we went to a bar nearby (oddly enough it was Texas themed) to celebrate one of Livia’s friends birthdays!

We got to make pain au chocolate and croissants! Here is us kneeding the dough - it was a lot harder than expected (Hannah pulled a muscle embarrassingly enough)

We couldn’t get many pictures/videos because our hands were dirty but here is right before they went in a special machine to be proofed

Sammy’s!

The pastries are in the oven! Sammy’s is the middle on the left and Hannah’s is the middle on the right.

Sammy’s finished products! His croissants were a bit small and misshapen but still very yummy!

Hannah’s finished products!

So yummy!! And we got lots of leftovers

And of course we had to stop in the duck store!

Next stop: Sacré Cœur Basilica! We didn’t actually go inside and unfortunately we forgot to get a picture of it but the view from the Basilica was beautiful so we got pictures of that!

Spot the Eiffel Tower!

We made it!

🚶‍♂️

There are tunnels to get to the center but a lot of people don’t know this so they try to run through traffic

The woman was so nice and included a giant tote bag, free samples, and a body wash! So nice!!

For dessert, we had an apple and caramel crepe. So good!!!

To end the day, we watched Lupin, a French show on Netflix about a “Gentleman Thief”.

Amazing pastry selection!! Everything looked so good

The egg actually looks real here compared to the fake eggs in the states.

Veggie wrap was very flavorful and delicious!

Great views of the city on the way to the top floor!

Saw some interesting artwork and really enjoyed the modern exhibits

Took a peaceful and relaxing break on the terrace

Sacré Cœur in the back!

But that’s okay because after waiting a quick 30 minutes to get in, we were finally seated in the beautiful Angelina!

We started with their famous hot chocolate which was incredible!

We both got eggs benedict which was so delicious!

Lastly, we had to try one of their desserts! So yummy!

Afterwards, we stopped at a cute bookstore to browse while it rained. They even had some books in English!

We were both so tired and barely awake

Beautiful sunrise!

Rome here we come!

We made it!!

Avi is here!! Quick bite to eat before hopping on the train to our hotel

On the train!

We made it!!

Then we went up to the hotel rooftop to check out the views!

Stop #1: Campo de Fiori! Got some really yummy fruit from the flea market before we head on our tour!

Stop #2: Piazza Navona!

Avi’s friend (Roberto) is from Rome and he was giving us a great tour with all the history! Very thankful!

Stop #3: a pretty church! (I think we were all half asleep during this tour so we don’t remember many names of things…)

Stop #4: The Pantheon!

Stop #5: The Church of Gesu! It’s the mother church of the Jesuits.

While it looks like a dome, it’s actually just a ceiling painted to look like a dome.

Stop #6: The Trevi Fountain!

Last stop: some ruins!

The food was great! We got burrata with tomatoes, fried artichokes (no sammy didn’t want to try it) and Cacio e Pepe!

Everyone’s favorite was the burrata!

Pretty scenery on the walk back to the hotel!

Obviously we had to stop for Gelato before the night was over and they had a ton of non-dairy flavors for Hannah to choose from!

Breaking news!! Avi says the drinking water is very tasty

Great view of that “new building that looks like the old building” at night!

We started in the Egyptian wing.

“ending up in a sarcophagus isn’t a bad way to go” -avi

So much beautiful artwork!

The Gallery of Tapestries

“look it’s the shabbos bride!” -sammy

The School of Athens

After this we went into the Sistine Chapel but no pictures are allowed. It was really cool to see all the details of the famous paintings.

Next, we visited St. Peter’s Basilica

While there, they started a service which included a beautiful choir and burning incense.

When asked how our visit to the Vatican went, Avi responded “it was cool”.

They messed up Hannah’s order but she felt weird making a separate pile of tomatoes but then it just looked like this which was even weirder…

After working hard on our pasta, we got to relax while they cooked it. They brought us drinks and bruschetta to start out dinner.

Don’t worry, Hannah didn’t eat any of the tomatoes!

Then we got our pasta! Sammy got his with tomato sauce and Hannah got pesto!

It was so yummy and you could definitely tell it was homemade!

We got to see the Trevi Fountain again!

We all got to throw a coin in and make a wish! Hannah got a video but Sammy was too fast and didn’t let Hannah take a video.

Joey finally made it!

Then we head over to the colosseum! Incredible to learn about the history of the space and witness the sheer size of the building.

And the Roman Forum! Very pretty but it was around 100 degrees and we couldn’t stay outside for too long.

The Arch of Titus

You can see a depiction of the Romans taking the Menorah from the Temple

It was beautiful on the train and we enjoyed the views of the cities we passed (including Naples) and Mount Vesuvius.

After getting off the train in Salerno, we jumped in a taxi to get to Maiori. Winding roads!

We found a cute garden :)

Really pretty and unique flowers!

Got pizza for lunch!

Explored the first half of the Path of Lemons. LOTS of steps but worth it for the beautiful views!

Getting ready for the Tisch and signing of the Ketubah.

The entire Villa is under lemon trees. They provided much needed shade and an incredible atmosphere!

The happy couple under the Chuppah!

Picture time after the ceremony

Saw the entire city as we climbed and descended the mountain and we even got a great view of Mount Vesuvius!